1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to highway and/or roadside markers separating the side of a traffic lane from the roadway shoulder, preferably providing a reflective surface on the lane line indicating the lane edge and a raised area that a driver senses as a bump should a vehicle travel to the edge, alerting the driver before his wheel travels onto the roadway shoulder.
2. Prior Art
Highway and roadside lane markers are, of course, well known, and often include, as does the invention, a surface that can be reflective to alert drivers to the edge of the road or lane, and are often raised to alert a driver as their tire is slightly lifted and bumps over the marker that there are about to drive into the shoulder. Such earlier markers have provided for driver safety by exerting a slight force on the steering wheel as a tire passes thereover, causing the driver to become more alert and even waking the driver should they have fallen asleep. Such earlier markers, however, have presented a major problem for snow plows clearing the highway or road of snow as they are not readily seen by the plow operator when the highway or road is covered with snow and, should the plow blade end strike and even gouge into the marker, the plow blade will be deflected upwardly against a hydraulic assembly that is set to maintain the plow blade in a desired plane slightly above the roadway. Such deflection can damage a hydraulic ram and connecting linkages to the blade. Prior to the invention, highway markers have not been capable, as is the present invention, to displace, an upper portion moving into a mounting sleeve, to allow a plow blade impacting thereagainst to slide smoothly, without damage, over the highway marker.